Thunder Kiss '65 Project

Non-Traditionally Powered Corvairs
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Hellbilly
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Thunder Kiss '65 Project

Post by Hellbilly »

Will be using this thread to document my 65 Coupe project.

Although I have got an outline plan, Im not going to start by listing everything that Im going to do; I want this to be a journey, and youre all invited along!

Updates may be sporadic, but I will try to answer questions, provide more detail where necessary and generally compile a comprehensive guide for any who choose to follow me.

Contributions are always welcome, and shared ideas can often turn into solutions.

Not interested in hearing what cant or shouldnt be done; I know what I am going to be undertaking here may upset some traditionalists but Im going to do it anyway.

For everyone else; discuss, contribute and ENJOY!
' Success Consists of Going From Failure to Failure, Without Loss of Enthusiasm'

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Hellbilly
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Re: Thunder Kiss '65 Project

Post by Hellbilly »

This is my 65 140hp Monza Coupe
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Re: Thunder Kiss '65 Project

Post by Hellbilly »

I bought the car through an agent, who negotiated the price, shipped the car to me in the UK, and did all the paperwork... All I needed to do was collect it from a warehouse in London.

Everything went pretty straightforward, and the car is now sat on my driveway :)
' Success Consists of Going From Failure to Failure, Without Loss of Enthusiasm'

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Re: Thunder Kiss '65 Project

Post by Hellbilly »

I thought I would see what the car would look like lowered on a set of 17" rims I have, so I set it up on a couple of jacks and stuffed the wheels into the arches... Not bad, considering.
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Re: Thunder Kiss '65 Project

Post by Hellbilly »

I vacuumed out the engine bay, to get rid of the nuts and mouse droppings which I found ontop of the wheel arches!

The engine bay insulation was pretty tired, so I pulled it all out and threw it away.

I found more nuts and stuff under the rear seat, along with a few Quarters!

After folding the rear seat down, I found that the 'card' panel behind it was falling apart, so I just ripped all of this out, and used the vaccum cleaner to suck up all of the wierd fluffy insulation from off of the parcel shelf.
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Re: Thunder Kiss '65 Project

Post by Hellbilly »

Noticed that the steering arms were pretty short, and that the steering is only three turns from lock to lock, so perhaps this car isnt as stock as Id thought!
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Re: Thunder Kiss '65 Project

Post by Hellbilly »

Also, found this bottle in the trunk, in its own special bracket... Is this a Corvair thing?

Its pretty cool, eitherway... I love little details like this :)
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Re: Thunder Kiss '65 Project

Post by Hellbilly »

Talking of cool details: its also got this old High School parking permit sticker, in the windscreen (English for windshield)
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Scott V
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Re: Thunder Kiss '65 Project

Post by Scott V »

Hellbilly wrote:Noticed that the steering arms were pretty short, and that the steering is only three turns from lock to lock, so perhaps this car isnt as stock as Id thought!
cool car!

you have aftermarket short/quick steering arms. they make the steering faster but scrub near full lock.

-Scott V.
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Re: Thunder Kiss '65 Project

Post by bbodie52 »

Mater Dei High School is a private, Catholic, co-educational secondary school in Santa Ana, California in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange. With an enrollment of 2,100 students (Fall 2013) Mater Dei High School is one of the largest Catholic high schools in the United States. Mater Dei High School offers a comprehensive academic program in college prep, honors and Advanced Placement courses.
In other words, Corvair drivers are well-educated, highly moral people of good character. :tongue: :whoa: ::-):

The glass bottle contained windshield washer concentrate. There were many features that had to be ordered as optional extras, but if you had a windshield washer, you received a fancy triangular glass bottle with a unique matching mounting bracket!

:whoa:

That bottle usually held up and survived much longer than the windshield washer pump! I believe that washer pump had a lifespan that was roughly the same as a Corsa instrument panel clock or the original pushrod tube o-rings..

:rolling:
Brad Bodie
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Image 1966 Corvair Corsa Convertible
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Re: Thunder Kiss '65 Project

Post by 64powerglide »

If you found mouse nesting material in the car you probably have nests in the heating hoses, heater fan, defrost ducts & under the engine fan shroud. You have lots of cleaning to do. :eek: Looks like you have a good starter car, good luck with your restoration. :tu: :tu:
64Powerglide, Jeff Phillips

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Hellbilly
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Re: Thunder Kiss '65 Project

Post by Hellbilly »

Scott V - Are short steering arms enough to explain 3 turns lock to lock? It looks like the steering box is what limits the travel of the sector arms; the short steering arms simply help with greater steering angle?

bbodie52 - Would this bottle/bracket been found on all sorts of cars of the period; just Chevys; or just Corvairs?

64powerglide - What's the best way of accessing the fan, hoses and ducts, to clean them out thoroughly?
' Success Consists of Going From Failure to Failure, Without Loss of Enthusiasm'

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Re: Thunder Kiss '65 Project

Post by Hellbilly »

... Oh, and in case anyone is thinking this thread is under the wrong category; I can assure you it isn't!

Watch this space ;)
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Re: Thunder Kiss '65 Project

Post by Hellbilly »

On the subject of the steering arms, I measured the front wheels at full lock, and found them to be both at 30-something degrees (its written down at home); so in effect zero Ackerman.
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Re: Thunder Kiss '65 Project

Post by bbodie52 »

Image

:link: http://autoxer.skiblack.com/steering.html
Ratios - I turned all the boxes through their complete travel. The 66 box (a factory quick ratio), was 3.6 turns lock to lock. The pitman arm shaft turned about one quarter of a turn. That is the 16 to one ratio. The Flaming River box turned a little more than 4 turns, say 4.1 - but the Pitman arm turned more than the quarter turn. I think the ratio is the same as the factory fast box. The 62 box and the 67 box both went over 5 turns lock to lock - and performed the same one-quarter turn on the pitman arm. It is worth noting that the steering box, when fully installed in the car and hooked up to the steering components does not approach lock in either direction. Other components - steering arms, usually - prevent the box from reaching the ends of travel.

-- Seth Emerson

Steering Arms.

Since the steering arms on a Corvair unbolt from the spindle, making faster ratio arms has been a product almost from the introduction of the car. The photo below (courtesy JR Read) is of a display Mike Harrison of Group Corvair had at a convention vendor area. The "typical short" is an example of arms sold by IECO, EELCO, etc. Keep in mind that the ratio is based on the distance from the spindle to the tie rod mount, so the changes look bigger than they are.

Image
Image
:link: http://www.corvair.com/user-cgi/catalog ... w_page=155
:link: http://www.corvair.com/user-cgi/catalog ... _page=157A
Fast Ratio Steering (Clark's).jpg
with history & variations...
Image
Corvair Windshield Washer Refill Bottles
By Dave Newell and Kent Sullivan
This article was published in the May, 2006 CORSA Communique.

Introduction

From the factory, when a windshield washer was installed as a Regular Production Option (RPO), the bottle of concentrated washer fluid and its bracket were always included when the option was ordered, 1961 through 1965. Once the washer became standard equipment in 1966, the bottle and bracket were no longer installed at the factory.

From the dealer, the bottle and bracket were never offered as part of the windshield washer accessory kit or as a separate accessory kit. That's why you don't find them in the Custom Feature Accessory literature. However, the washer bottles were always available, all years, as a 'Service or Maintenance Product' (i.e., Chemical Products; see P&A 30, group 8.800). The brackets were also available, under a regular, non-accessory part number.
So, while dealer-installed washer kits didn't include the bracket and bottle, customers could ask for them or enterprising parts managers could install them as an up-sell.

Interesting trivia: One purpose of the triangular shape was to encourage owners to buy a GM bottle rather than aftermarket bottles, which were not triangular. The other was so that the methanol-based washer fluid concentrate, still available in round cans, wouldn't slip into the triangular bracket.

:link: http://www.corvairkid.com/refill.htm
Image

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:link: http://www.corvair.com/user-cgi/catalog ... N&page=211
Part number C10742: GM WASHER BOTTLE & BRACKET 62-64 *BOTTLE FITS 65 BUT BRACKET DOES NOT

Weight: 1 lbs 0 oz
Catalog Pages(s): 211
Price: $42.10
Brad Bodie
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Re: Thunder Kiss '65 Project

Post by thewolfe »

On the subject of the steering arms, I measured the front wheels at full lock, and found them to be both at 30-something degrees (its written down at home); so in effect zero Ackerman.
This will cause the tires to scrub on tight turns since the two tires are on different arcs. I had the same arms and they scrubbed. Also if you lower the car the tie rods hit the spring towers on bumps. At least mine did with HD springs cut one coil(2" drop). The quick steer arms also reduce turning radius. To reduce tire scrub the mounting point of the tie rod needs to be moved out toward the brakes but only so much can be done with drums and wheel size. This will also change bump steer. Here's my setup now with modified stock arms shortened, and moved out into the wheels. No scrub! Or at least minimal to where I don't notice it. And tight turning radius. That shiny bare metal area on the bottom lip of my spring tower is where the old stock tie rods were hitting with Clark's quick steer arms.
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